In developing a proper golf swing, most professional golfers would admit that the proper golf swing technique is to bring the club back in a consistent, customized swing plane and swing down and through the ball in another swing plane by pivoting the body, moving the arms and hips forward, following through the swing, and shifting the weight towards the target. Other golf pros contend that the golf club head actually follows one swing plane in both the back swing and the follow through but that the angle between the golfer's hands and the golf club shaft change during the follow through thus creating a different swing plane at the golfer's hands. Either way, to develop a consistent and effective golf swing, a golfer must develop a repeatable swing that follows the swing planes described above. Errors occur in striking the ball when the golfer deviates from the swing plane created in the back swing, and thus, the club is not returned properly to the originating position behind the ball. If an improper or inconsistent swing is used, practiced and repeated, the golfer will make inconsistent and unpredictable contact with the ball resulting in erratic performance.
Many golf swing training apparatuses have been developed in an attempt to teach the proper swing plane and allow for an effective golf swing. Some of these training devices utilize a "swing arm" or "radius arm" that attaches to the golf club shaft, golf club head or hands of the golfer in order to encourage or force the golfer to swing along a predetermined arc dependent upon the length, position and method of attachment of the swing arm. Golf swing training apparatuses have been developed using flexible swing arms, such as a cable, or rigid swing arms which utilize a rod or tubing to guide the golf club in the ascending and descending portions of the swing. Other golf swing training apparatuses have been developed utilizing a pendulum motion along a proper swing plane or arc in order to encourage a swing that is consistent and repetitive.
Almost all of the golf swing training apparatuses which utilize rigid swing arms force the golfer to swing the club in a predetermined plane. Such devices do not require any conscious input by the golfer, and thus, the apparatus becomes a teaching crutch which lessens the effectiveness of the training device. The disadvantage of such devices is that the path of the club is completely controlled by the apparatus, and therefore, the golfer's swing becomes dependent on the training apparatus, thus diminishing the golfer's ability to play the game without the benefit of the training apparatus. These apparatuses do not provide any feedback to the golfer that he may be trying to force his swing in or out of the predetermined swing plane. In addition, those training apparatuses which utilize flexible swing arms, such as cable, do not ensure that the proper swing plane is being maintained since there is no indicator that the cable is taut throughout the entire swing.
Most all of the golf swing training apparatuses that utilize swing arms require that the back swing and the follow through swing be in one predetermined swing plane. Most professional golfers agree that the back swing of a golf swing occurs in one swing plane and the follow through of a golf swing occurs in a second swing plane. This change in swing planes requires an adjustment in the length of the swing arm as the golfer's swing makes the transition to from the back swing to the follow through swing. Most golf swing training apparatuses which utilize rigid swing arms do not provide any compensation for the length of the swing arm as the golfer moves from the back swing to the follow through swing. Thus, these devices do not allow the golfer to perform or practice the optimal swing which will ensure the most effective play.
None of the golf swing training apparatuses provide an alignment mechanism or set-up procedure to ensure that the golfer is properly and repeatedly aligned with respect to the golfer's stance and the golf ball. In order to assure a consistent and repetitive swing, it is necessary to ensure that the golfer maintains a consistent and repetitive stance so that the feel of the swing remains consistent to the golfer. Most all of the training devices simply require the golfer to approach and utilize the device without considering where or how the golfer is or was aligned from swing to swing or from training session to training session. Some of the golf training apparatuses do provide for a vertical height adjustment of the swing arm to adjust for varying heights of the golfers, and other devices have utilized markings for indicating the spacing between the golfer's feet. Still, none of these devices ensure a consistent and repetitive positioning of the golfer relative to the golf swing training apparatus.
It would be desirable to provide a golf swing training apparatus that provided a golfer with a proper swing while providing a response to the golfer that the proper swing plane was or was not maintained. It would also be desirable to provide a golf swing training apparatus that allowed a golfer to utilize one swing plane in his back swing and utilize a second swing plane in his follow through swing. It would further be desirable to provide a golf swing training apparatus that provided an apparatus for consistently and repeatedly aligning a golfer with the golf swing training apparatus.